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Trump And Biden Spar In Dueling Events In Battleground Georgia; US Military Evacuates Non-Essential Personnel From Embassy In Haiti; First US Equipment To Build Temporary Gaza Port Now En Route. Aired 3- 4p ET

Aired March 10, 2024 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:00:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Hi, everyone, and thanks so much for joining me. I'm Jessica Dean, in today for Fredricka Whitfield.

Voters are getting a clearer picture this weekend of what the next eight months will look like in the race for the White House. President Biden and former President Trump, the two presumptive party nominees trading pointed jabs at dueling rallies in the battleground state of Georgia, which holds its primaries on Tuesday. Biden won Georgia in 2020 by about 12,000 votes, and the state will once again be critical to winning the White House in November.

CNN White House reporter, Priscilla Alvarez is joining us now live and Priscilla, you were at Biden's Atlanta rally yesterday. Tell us about his message to voters as he hits the road and we turn our focus to this general election.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Jess, these dueling rallies certainly provided a window in to what we're expected to see in the months to come between President Biden and his Republican rival, Donald Trump where the president ticked through multiple themes over the course of his remarks to a rowdy audience, but one of the prominent themes and one that his campaign launched on was protecting democracy.

And on that front, the president kicked off his remarks talking about Donald Trump's coziness to authoritarian regimes and also making clear that it is a stark contrast between him and Donald Trump. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My lifetime has taught me to embrace the future of freedom and democracy. Trump and I have a very different value set of it isn't obvious already.

Mine is based on core values that defined America, and the rest of the world looks at us that way -- decency, honesty, fairness, equality. We all know Donald Trump sees a different America, an American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution.

That's not me. That's not you. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now I spoke with voters in the crowd before and after the president's remarks and protecting democracy was a theme and an issue that really did resonate with them, but it was one of many.

They also talked about reproductive rights, lowering healthcare costs and student loan relief, among others, all of which the president talked about and talked about forcefully.

Now the president still faces another reality, which is that there was a heckler in the crowd who called him "Genocide Joe," this regarding the Israel-Hamas war.

So the president is still having to navigate that reality among the coalition where there are fractures over how the administration is handling the situation in Gaza, but what is clear is that the president is also really using the momentum of his State of the Union address, which also came up yesterday as he hits the road and the campaign telling CNN this morning, that it raised $10 million in the 24 hours after the State of the Union.

Again, voters really excited about what they heard from President Biden. That's what they told me, and the president is going to continue that momentum in the days to come.

He is going to go to New Hampshire this week, along with Wisconsin, and Michigan -- Jess.

DEAN: All right, it is here, 2024 is upon us. Priscilla Alvarez, thanks so much.

At Trump's first rally since emerging as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, the former president wasted no time criticizing Biden's State of the Union address calling it partisan and angry. He also attacked Biden for what he had to say about the alleged killer of Georgia nursing student, Laken Riley.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Joe Biden went on television and apologized for calling Laken's murderer an illegal. He didn't want to call him illegal --

(BOOING)

TRUMP: He said he should have called him an undocumented, not an illegal and he wanted to apologize.

(BOOING)

TRUMP: Joe Biden has no remorse. He's got no regret. He has got no empathy, no compassion, and worst of all, he has no intention of stopping the deadly invasion that stole precious Laken's beautiful American life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: With me now to talk more about the 2024 race is Professor Kerwin Swint. He holds a PhD in Political Science and is the director for the School of Government and International Affairs at Kennesaw State University.

Great to have you on. Thanks so much for being here with us.

We know that both of these candidates have pretty much locked up their nominations ahead of this primary in your state on Tuesday, but that didn't mean that those two men were not there campaigning. We just saw them in the state this weekend.

What does that say to you about the importance of Georgia this year? Again, Biden winning it in 2020 by a mere 12,000 votes.

KERWIN SWINT, DIRECTOR, SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS: Well, Georgia is crucial this year. The White House runs through Georgia, it really does.

You know Donald Trump was on the road to re-winning Georgia in 2020, but he couldn't lock up the suburban votes, right? Georgia is one of those face where you have a large metro core that's majority Democrat and the rest of the states very Republican, so Trump did that in 2016, but he couldn't replicate it 2020.

[15:05:11]

So for this year 2024, what I'm looking for are those suburban voters and the Metro Atlanta counties, are they uncomfortable enough with President Biden's policies to give Donald Trump another chance?

DEAN: And you know, a lot of those voters have been focused on a handful of issues -- reproductive rights being one of them, that does turn out suburban voters often. What do you think and what are you hearing from those types of voters about what they're focused on? What do you think the issues are that are going to be the ones they really latch on to?

SWINT: Yes, well, it's going to be about immigration, it's going to be about the economy, inflation, prices. Those are the two drivers that I see in Georgia politics right now.

The immigration issue was already a hot one before the Laken Riley tragedy, that brought it front and center and you really see the difference between the Biden administration's policies and what the Republicans want to see on immigration.

That's going to be there. It's not going to go away anytime soon. You mentioned the reproductive rights issue, that is something that the Democrats have campaigned well on. That's going to be something that Joe Biden will mention frequently. So he is going to focus on those issues that he thinks that suburban women voters, for example, will respond to. Donald Trump is doing the opposite. He is saying: Are you better off than you were three years ago? I don't think so. And he's going to try and remind voters of what they don't like about President Biden -- high prices, green energy policy, the southern border, even foreign policy.

DEAN: And in 2020, Trump became the first GOP presidential candidate to lose Georgia in 24 years. Brian Kemp, the state's Republican governor, coasted to an easy win that year, and Trump kind of partially blamed him for that loss, and then for refusing to help him in his belief to overturn the state's election results and they haven't reconciled. What is that dynamic like? And can Trump win there without the help of the governor?

SWINT: Yes, that's an interesting relationship because Brian Kemp and Donald Trump are at arm's length. They don't like each other at all, and it has to do with Donald Trump trying to get Brian Kemp and other state GOP officials to look for votes for him in 2020, which is the whole controversy.

But Brian Kemp is someone who managed to navigate that whole thing, keep Donald Trump at arm's length, say no, I'm going to follow the law. And as you say, get re-elected easily in 2022.

Donald Trump can win without Brian Kemp actively campaigning for him. If Brian Kemp showed Donald Trump how to do it, what you have to do is you have to do well outside of Atlanta, obviously, if you're a Republican, but you have to do well enough, and enough of these big Metro Atlanta counties like Fulton County and DeKalb County to overcome that natural advantage that Biden will have with those suburban voters in Atlanta.

DEAN: And I'm curious, too, the Fani Willis case, both the case that she is prosecuting against the former president and then the hearing that we've seen trying to get her disqualified as well. What role does that play? Are people in Georgia closely paying attention to that?

SWINT: Oh, it's must-see TV, absolutely. Yes, people are paying very close attention to that. I mean, it's a bombshell. No one expected this kind of controversy to happen around this case, but it has. It's been in the courts. The judge has announced being adjudicated, so things are looking kind of bad right now for Fani Willis. We'll see what eventually happens.

But it could be that that case in Fulton County is unraveling as we speak. If Fani Willis is removed, if the DA's office is removed, that puts that whole case in question.

Fani Willis had put this case around the RICO conspiracy statute in Georgia, which is controversial, but another prosecutor may not see it that way at all, and maybe a completely different case. And, at best, it's going to delay the case from happening if it even happens this year.

So the stakes are pretty high there. A lot of people thought that case was the one that can really cause Donald Trump the most legal jeopardy, and maybe, that that case doesn't even see trial, we'll see.

DEAN: Well, more to come on that. Professor Kerwin Swint, thanks so much for taking time. We appreciate it.

SWINT: My pleasure.

DEAN: Still to come this afternoon, US military evacuate some embassy staff in Haiti as gang violence in the capital spirals out of control.

Plus, the equipment to start building a temporary port for aid in Gaza is now on its way as officials in Gaza warn of widespread famine. Our team is live in the region.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:14:44]

DEAN: We are following breaking news out of Haiti where we are learning heightened gang violence is prompting the German and EU missions to evacuate their diplomatic staff from Port-au-Prince.

This news coming just hours after the US Embassy evacuated some of its embassy personnel. Gang leaders are threatening Civil War that will end the genocide, their words, if the prime minister stays in office.

[15:15:08]

CNN's Patrick Oppmann is following all of these developments and Patrick, what more can you tell us about these evacuations?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, quite dramatic that overnight, a US military helicopter was sent by Southern Command in the dead of night to evacuate an undisclosed number of non- essential US personnel, all US diplomats from the US Embassy in Haiti, as well brought in additional security, presumably, Marines to help guard the embassy and the remaining diplomats. And now, hearing as well that German diplomats and EU diplomats have also left the country because it has simply become too dangerous and this is really a country, that's no stranger for diplomats operating in very tricky circumstances.

But you know, last week, I've talked to some diplomats who said that, you know, they had stockpiled food and water and it's running low, and that they simply never remember instances like this, where the gangs have been working together in unison to take on the Haitian government, the Haitian National Police, and essentially are in many places are winning.

Other parts of the capital, you know, there is a tense calm. You see people sometimes on the street, waiting in line in ATMs, that kind of thing. It seems like life is going about back to normal in certain places. But by and large, the gangs are not allowing aid to come in, are not allowing people to circulate freely throughout the country, and are preventing flights from coming in or out of the airport.

So essentially, have the country of Haiti on lockdown or holding the country hostage as they continue to demand the Prime Minister Ariel Henry himself unable to come back to Haiti. He is stuck in Puerto Rico, last we heard, until he steps down, that is their demand, as well, they want to prevent a force of Kenyan soldiers that are supposed to be coming in to restore order. So a very tense situation, and for many of the diplomatic missions, simply too dangerous to continue operating in Haiti.

DEAN: And violence in the Capitol and you hear about so much gun violence and dead bodies strewn about. What more do you know about that?

OPPMANN: You know, gang violence has been an ongoing problem for months now, as it spiraled further and further out of control. You hear statistics about the gangs controlling 80 percent of the capital. There have been moments in the last year or so where the Prime Minister when he was in country could not move around the capital. The gangs simply had the upper hand. They have more firepower than the Haitian Police do.

But to see shootouts happening near the National Palace, a violent protests happening outside the Canadian Embassy and now, a US Embassy diplomat saying that there has been violence a near their embassy, and then they want to limit the footprint of the of the embassy, you know, that says everything we need to know.

DEAN: Yes. Patrick Oppmann for us in Havana, thanks so much for that reporting. We appreciate it.

We are now learning the identities of the three people killed in a helicopter crash on the southern border. The Department of Homeland Security says two of the victims were National Guard soldiers. The other victim is being identified as Border agent Chris Luna.

Those two National Guard soldiers are identified as Chief Warrant Officer II Casey Frankoski and Chief Warrant Officer II John Grassia. The helicopter went down Friday while they were supposed to be on a support mission near Rio Grande City, Texas. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Still to come, the US airdropping more aid into Gaza today as aid groups warn that a growing number of people there are starving to death. Where ceasefire talks stand hours before the start of Ramadan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:23:41]

DEAN: New today, a ship carrying aid for Gaza is expected to leave nearby Cyprus soon. A coalition of countries including the US are behind that aid shipment and right now, they aren't saying exactly where the ship is going to land.

Also, some of the equipment to build a temporary port for aid is also on its way to the region after the US vowed to build that structure to get more aid into Gaza. Also the US and other countries continuing to airdrop bundles of food into Gaza, including more earlier today. The backdrop for all of this is a frantic push to negotiate an agreement for a temporary ceasefire and the release of hostages.

Israel has said if there is no agreement in place by the beginning of Ramadan, which begins in the next 24 hours, it would expand military operations in Rafah.

Joining us now is Lieutenant General Mark Hertling. He's a CNN military analyst and former commanding general of the US Army Europe.

Great to see you. Thanks so much for being here with us. First, can you just walk us through what's going on at the Pentagon right now and across the government to get this temporary port set up?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Now, what we're talking about, Jessica is something called a JLOTS -- Joint Logistics Over The Shore. It's a combination of army transportation brigades and their equipment establishing a port facility and US Naval ships usually run by civilians transporting not only the equipment, but eventually getting the aid.

[15:25:09]

Some of that is coming from Joint Base Eustis-Langley in Virginia. It will take several days to get across the ocean and then transit the Mediterranean to get to the shores of Gaza, a 25-mile shore in Gaza. They don't want to advertise where they're going to put these temporary port facilities and these embark points, but what it does is establishes basically an artificial harbor, so you can get stuff from a ship to the shore and then transload it to get the aid to the people.

In the interim, they'll continue with these airdrops, which, first of all, they are very difficult to arrange and drop as many pallets and parachutes as they're pushing out of the C-17 aircraft, US Air Force aircraft.

So you see this is a completely joint Army Navy Air Force operation to stem the humanitarian crisis that has been erupting ever since the last few months of this war has been going on.

DEAN: And do you think all of these things together, do they -- can they help stem the humanitarian crisis? Can they make a big enough difference?

HERTLING: Well, when you're talking about the airdrops, you're talking about 40,000 meals per drop, these have been going on for several days. There has been over a couple of hundred thousand meals that have been dropped, but the air drops can't deliver other things like medical aid, and in some cases, large quantities of water.

Once those harbors, those artificial harbors get in, you can pull any kind of ship or barge into those, get it to the transload site, but it is still difficult, Jessica, because you have to have security forces on the shore, or some type of humanitarian forces, whether it's the UN or the Red Cross, or even Chef Andres with some of his World Kitchen facilities, transferring them from the ships to the people, and that's very difficult. You're talking about humanitarian assistance for over a million people, that's very challenging and the reason they're not coming in on roads, on trucks is because of the blockages of the port facilities, getting them across the transfer points on the roads, but also because it's right in the middle of the active combat zone.

Once you pull that off of those roads and where the rubble is from the ammunition and the bombardments and get it toward the shore, you can have a cleaner transfer of this equipment, but it is also you know, what is in their equipment.

So there is no smuggling of any things. It's not handed out to Hamas. So it's a control transfer of the kinds of things that you need in a humanitarian crisis. I've run one of these things one time, it's very challenging. It's a joint operation, it's tough. But once it gets moving, I think you're going to see a massive amount of equipment and food delivered to the people of Gaza.

The one other thing I had mentioned, there's been a lot of people talking that this will take two to three months to set up. I don't buy that. I've seen these things, as long as you can get the equipment there in a couple of days, which I think will happen. I think we'll see these port facilities set up in a few weeks, and you'll see the airdrops continue until then.

DEAN: Wow. All right, Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, thanks so much. It really helps to have that context. We sure do appreciate it.

HERTLING: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Officials in Gaza are renewing their plea for humanitarian aid ahead of the start of Ramadan, which is just hours from now calling that situation a grave crisis.

The Gaza Ministry of Health says at least 25 people have died so far from malnutrition and dehydration. Here is CNN's Nada Bashir on the food crisis in Gaza, and we do want to warn our viewers that this report contains distressing images. We also want viewers to know that the mothers shown in this report wanted this to be seen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER (voice over): Tiny limbs, bones protruding, the constant sound of crying from children now facing starvation in Gaza. In this overrun hospital ward, anxious mothers watch on as doctors provide whatever care they still can.

But for some, there is nothing more to be done. Three-year-old Mila (ph), who had been suffering from acute malnutrition, now another victim of this merciless war.

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE speaking in foreign language.)

BASHIR (voice over): "She was healthy. There was nothing wrong with her before," Mila's mother says. "Then suddenly, everything dropped. She wasn't eating anything. We had no milk, no eggs, nothing. She used to eat eggs every day before the war. But now, we have nothing."

Across Gaza, too many are feeling the pain of this deepening hunger crisis. Small children emaciated and malnourished.

[15:30:10]

These were little Yazan's (ph) final moments. His tiny fingers gripped in his mother's hand. He, like Mila would not make it.

Others are still just barely holding on, but there is no telling how long they will survive.

(DR. AHMED SANAM speaking in foreign language.)

BASHIR (voice over): Standing beside Mila's body, Dr. Ahmed Sanam (ph) says, "Many children at this hospital are now dying due to a lack of food and oxygen supplies."

With limited aid getting in, many have grown desperate, searching for food wherever they can.

Nine-year-old Mohamed (ph) says he walks for about a mile every day to collect water for his family.

"You seem sad. Why?" This journalist asked him.

(MOHAMED speaking in foreign language.)

BASHIR (voice over): "Because of the war," he says. It is all too much.

On Tuesday, UN experts accused Israel of intentionally starving the Palestinian people in Gaza. Noting that the Israeli military is now targeting both civilians seeking aid and humanitarian convoys.

Israel has denied targeting civilians and says that there is, "No limit to the amount of humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza." But the reality on the ground paints a very different picture.

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE speaking in foreign language.)

BASHIR (voice over): "There is no food, no water, no flour, cooking oil or anything," this woman says. "Death is better than this."

According to a senior UN official, at least a quarter of Gaza's population is now said to be just one step away from famine.

With aid agencies facing overwhelming obstacles in getting the bare minimum of supplies into Gaza, and as Israel's ground offensive threatens to push further into the Strip's densely populated south, time is quickly running out.

While international efforts to airdrop humanitarian supplies have provided some respite, it is simply not enough.

With stalling negotiations leaving a little hope for an end to the suffering and hunger of the Palestinian people in Gaza.

Nada Bashir, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:37:22]

DEAN: There are growing concerns on Capitol Hill over the popular social media app, TikTok as Congress ways a potential ban over fears it may pose a Chinese government spying risk.

CNN chief congressional correspondent, Manu Raju has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The House plowing ahead and trying to take up legislation to essentially ban TikTok if the Chinese firm, ByteDance does not sell it. They're trying to force that sale because of concerns that the Chinese government is too close to private information of Americans.

They are alleging that the Chinese government is interfering with that information and could exploit it, something that ByteDance has furiously denied. But nevertheless, this has wide bipartisan support approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week, 50 to nothing. That is something that is rarely seen on Capitol Hill, but that bipartisan support ultimately forcing the House Majority Leader to put this bill on the floor very quickly.

Steve Scalise said that he would take up this measure, the full House would in just a matter of days. That doesn't mean though that TikTok isn't trying to kill it. In fact, that's exactly what they're trying to do. The top Republican who chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee told me that she is getting flooded with phone calls over people opposed to their efforts.

REP. CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS (R-WA): Yes, we've been flooded with calls, record amounts of calls. Any member of the Energy and Commerce Committee that voted yesterday has been flooded. The co-sponsors have been flooded.

TikTok actually put up a notice where they blocked an individual to actually get on TikTok unless you called your member of Congress and told them not to vote for this legislation, but that's just an example of how they can manipulate data and influence Americans for their agenda.

RAJU: But what will happen in the Senate? That is a completely different question. Altogether here, the senators have some of their own ideas, but it could take some time to get through but if it does become law, President Biden said he will sign it.

Mana Raju, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Manu, thank you.

"Saturday Night Live" got a surprise assist at the top of last night's show. Scarlett Johansson taking on the role of Alabama's junior Senator Katie Brett.

Johansson is married to SNL's head writer, Colin Jost. The show lampooned the Republican response to Thursday's State of the Union address anything.

("SATURDAY NIGHT LIFE" VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

SCARLETT JOHANSSON, PLAYING SEN. KATIE BOYD BRITT (R-AL): Good evening, America.

My name is Katie Britt and I have the honor of serving the great people of Alabama.

But tonight I'll be auditioning for the part of scary mom, and I'll be performing an original monologue called "This Country is Hell."

[15:40:08]

I'm worried about the future of our children, and this is why I've invited you into this strange, empty kitchen, because Republicans wanted me to appeal to women voters and women love kitchens.

First and foremost, I'm a mom and like any mom, I'm going to do a pivot out of nowhere into a shockingly violent story about sex trafficking.

And rest assured, every detail about it is real, except the year, where it took place, and who was president when it happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: All right, coming up, Kate Middleton breaking her months' long silence after undergoing abdominal surgery. What Kensington Palace is saying about her recovery. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:45:35]

DEAN: Prince Harry and Meghan the Duchess of Sussex were in Uvalde, Texas Saturday to visit the family of a victim in the Robb Elementary School mass shooting that they've formed a special relationship with.

Joining me now is CNN national correspondent, Camila Bernal and Camila, what can you tell us about this visit?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, the family simply said that it was a beautiful visit. And I do just want to start with Irma Garcia. This is a teacher, someone who had been a teacher for 23 years and was one of the two teachers and 19 students that were killed that day at Robb Elementary. And unfortunately, her husband also died just two days later of a heart attack.

So of course, this is a family that had gone through a lot and this family also says that they've received the support of Harry and Meghan since the shooting, that they have been in touch. And this time around, Irma's nephew, his name is John Martinez, he told CNN that his mom received a call from Meghan saying that she was coming to visit, this is after she spoke at South by Southwest in Austin.

And she brought a cake for Irma's sister, Claudia Martinez. They sang happy birthday together. But the most important thing here is that the family said that Harry and Meghan spent quite a bit of time speaking to Irma and Joe Garcia's kids, talking to them about the future, talking to them about their plans, and what they want to do and they said they spoke to them at length.

So again, this was the whole family coming together with Harry and Meghan, and it was very special for them. John Martinez also saying that not only was it beautiful, but he said that these were very nice and compassionate people. He described them as being humble and down to earth during this visit.

And it's not the first time that Meghan visits with this family. They had been down to Uvalde right after the shooting and a spokesperson for Meghan at the time had said that she had done this in a personal capacity, as a mother to offer her support and to offer her condolences and it's really support that this family and all of the families of the victims need right now.

It was a very difficult week for them after an independent investigator concluded that local officers did no wrongdoing, essentially cleared these officers and a lot of the families were not happy with that report and are really vowing to continue to fight for the victims here -- Jess.

DEAN: All right, Camila Bernal for us, thanks so much. We appreciate it.

BERNAL: Thank you.

DEAN: On the other side of the pond, it's a Royal surprise as the UK celebrates Mother's Day. The Royal Family releasing this photo of Catherine, the Princess of Wales surrounded by her three children. It is the first official image we've seen of her since she underwent abdominal surgery in January.

And joining us now, CNN Royal historian, Kate Williams.

Kate, it's great to see you. Thanks so much for coming on with us.

There has been so much talk about where the Princess of Wales is, how she is doing, conspiracy theories, all of this. How are people reacting to this photo? And what do you think the photo is meant to relay? What message?

KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: Yes, Jessica. There's been all this speculation, conspiracy theories, the internet has been going wild, where is Kate? Kate's uncle is on a popular television program at the moment and he was asked, he didn't really -- he didn't give an answer. So clearly, I think Kensington Palace felt that they did have to put out a photograph of Kate to really stop some of the speculation and there has been -- we know she's been chased by photographers we believe.

There is a long lens picture taken in Windsor, in the Windsor Great Park. I think the last thing they want is for her to feel she can't go out and walk in case she's going to be photographed. So clearly this photograph is out there. And what they're trying to say is Kate is recovering. She's fine. No more worries. No more panics. No more speculation.

It is, as we said she had surgery. She's recovering. She will be back in action when she is recovered. And I think they're really trying to send a clear message here to both the public and the press to respect Kate's privacy on this medical matter.

DEAN: And they had said I believe, Easter we would see her again, which is at the end of March. Is that still the timeline?

WILLIAMS: We haven't had an updated timeline. We haven't had any updates at all. So Easter, they normally take the children's holidays off, which would take them to the end of April, but certainly I think that what I think is the end of April is a little bit early.

[15:50:05]

There was a Royal parade, the Trooping of the Colour early in June and there was one website that said that Kate will be there. And then they were asked to take that down again. So there is no guarantee that she will be on this Royal Trooping the Colour parade in early June. I think it may be until May or June that we see her.

And certainly she looks great in the photo, she looks radiant as ever. She looks great. But you know, as we know, we can smile for the camera, we can look good for the camera, but we might be in a lot of pain underneath. And I think that we have to respect the fact that Kate's been through obviously very serious surgery, very difficult surgery, and sometimes recuperation can take longer than we thought.

DEAN: Yes, and she is sitting down, also worth noting as well.

She is not the only Royal with health issues right now. King Charles is undergoing cancer treatment. There has been a pretty clear difference though and how Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have chosen to address these different scenarios. They've been a bit more forthcoming with King Charles, although we still don't know what type of cancer it is. Why do you think that is?

I've spoken to some people that say it's because he has this constitutional role. But what is your thinking on that?

WILLIAMS: Yes, yes, I agree. So Charles, we were told that he had a prostate problem, and that his aim was to encourage more men to get checked. And then we were told that there was cancer, but not prostate cancer, but we aren't being told what it is.

So I think they really feel that Charles has got this key constitutional role. There are, there is the system by which he can be replaced and have people to replace him. But really, it is all him. And we have been told that he is doing his constitutional duties by Zoom. He is having some meetings, but not crowds. The doctors have advised him to stay away from crowds.

So Kate does not have a constitutional role. So she can keep her medical information private. Charles does have a constitutional role.

And also, I think it is quite different situations here in that Kate has obviously undergone this very difficult surgery, but we've been told it's not cancerous, it isn't something that could possibly be seen as one day life threatening. Charles does have cancer. And that is something that is different, it does take longer treatment.

But what we don't know either at the moment is when Charles is going to be back out there with the crowds. We do expect we have to at some point in this year have a general election, possibly a change of government, a new prime minister. Charles has a key role in that election.

And so what we don't know if an election is called for May or June, whether he's going to be able to do that; if not, William would have to stand in and that is uncharted waters, unprecedented that the King cannot deal with the change of government, his key constitutional role.

But really, I think that Charles' treatment is something that had to be started quite fast. It's obviously something that's ongoing. It may be six weeks, it may be longer that we see him.

DEAN: Yes, a lot of moving parts there. All right, Kate Williams, thanks so much. We appreciate it. It is nice to see you.

WILLIAMS: It is nice to see you.

DEAN: Coming up, an unbelievable win for South Carolina's women's basketball, the miracle buzzer beater that saved their undefeated season, that's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:58:45]

DEAN: Well, if you're ever going to make a three-point shot in a basketball game, doing it at the buzzer to send your team to the SEC Conference Championship Game sounds like the right time to do it. Coy wire explains.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: What's up, Jessica?

Number one South Carolina, the only unbeaten D-1 team, a perfect 30 and oh playing in their conference tournament semifinals, but they found themselves down by two to number five Tennessee with 1.1 seconds to go. Tennessee doesn't even cover six foot seven Kamilla Cardoso. No way she makes the three, right? Wrong. Buzzer beater.

It's the first three pointer she has made in 118 games at SC. Balls coach, Kelly Harper wasn't wrong. It was only Cardoso's second ever three point attempt. Camilla said this was her favorite moment of her career, the Gamecocks will face LSU in the title game today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAWN STALEY, SOUTH CAROLINA HEAD COACH: The last thing that came up my mouth was Kamilla, shoot that blank and blank.

KAMILLA CARDOSO, BASKETBALL PLAYER: "Well, coach wanted me to get the ball at the top of the key and hit it to Pao, and she told to shoot it, and I was like, okay, I practice them in practice, so, I just stood back and shot it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Now the men's regular season wrapping up on Saturday with one of the biggest rivalries in sports, Duke hosting North Carolina. This one was spicy.

In the first half, Dukes' Kyle Filipowski and UNC's Harrison Ingram get tangled up, fall to the court, and it appears that Filipowski tried to trip Ingram, but he said afterwards he didn't. North Carolina, they weren't tripping though. They rallied for the 84-79 win.

But watch what happens as they celebrate. The Dukes' students section starts tossing stuff at the UNC players before they made their way to the locker room. We're talking drinks bottles, and apparently whatever else they could get their hands on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRISON INGRAM, NORTH CAROLINA FORWARD: I got hit with water, ice. I got hit with a gumball. I was like, who has a gumball? But it was all good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you get it all? Like refreshing at that time?

INGRAM: Yes, it was lit. I was just talking -- we were talking crazy.

It was fun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Jessica who in the world brings gumballs to a basketball game and how do they make it all the way to the end of the game without being eaten?

UNC clinched the ACC regular season title with the win and now head to the ACC tournament as a top seed. The tournament starts Tuesday.

DEAN: The gumball mysteries.

All right thanks, Coy. We appreciate it.'

Take a look at this jaw-dropping footage from a GoPro camera.

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DEAN: Thankfully, he was not hurt, which is kind of amazing. After a terrifying drop in to a hidden water falls.

Sean Thompson skiing around the mountains in Japan last week, he tumbled 20 feet down into a natural hot spring. The New Zealand man was able to climb out with the help of his skis.